


Accidental Dad Harbors Dragon

by slauthor



Category: Trials and Trebuchets (Podcast)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, like extratextually it's about my feelings but yeah it's fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-12 03:13:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 1,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29628219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slauthor/pseuds/slauthor
Summary: Phillip has a patron! He kinda wishes he didn't!
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	1. Symptoms Syndrome

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place early in the timeline, pre-Whiteout.

Phillip had to keep telling himself that his power wasn’t worse than what the other students could do, it was just different. So, a couple times a season when the sky was clear and the stars were aligned just so, he got access to magic beyond his wildest dreams. Cool. In exchange, his day to day life was intermittently interrupted by the need to feed, bathe and comfort this dumb little animal he didn’t ask for.

Well, sort of. That wasn’t entirely fair. When he found a tiny dragon stuck between the rocks of an avalanche last summer, deep down he could tell that he was involving himself in a world he knew nothing about by freeing it. He just wished someone had warned him that this would result in the dragon bonding their souls for life as thanks.

Today in Alchemy I, they were learning about the effects of various temperatures on a Philter of Love. Everybody lit a fire under their beakers with Prestidigitation or Produce Flame. Everybody but Phillip, whose sparks fizzled out in his hand. He bent over to peek into his book bag.

“Now what?” he said to the dragon, using Awakened Mind. “Look, I brought your toys this time, see? If you’re hungry, we went over this, there are crackers in—“

“I don’t know what in that backpack could be so captivating, Mr. Maisel, but whatever it is I’m sure it’s well worth holding up the next part of the instructions,” said professor Happel.

“No! I was just—“ His classmates either averted their gazes or looked at him with nervous smiles. Phillip hung his head. “Sorry. It won’t happen again.”


	2. Can't Do Shit Disorder

Phillip’s Conjuration homework was simple: Create a four inch statue of a crow. He got as far as constructing the base. Phillip’s Conjuration homework was  _ supposed  _ to be simple.

“Hey, dragon? What’re you up to?” he said. No response, but he found it lying on his end table in a languid heap. “You want some of my sandwich?” he asked, but the dragon turned its head away. “No, that’s right you just ate. Hmm…” He went to get a feather on a string out from under his couch and dangled it in front of the dragon. Once it pounced, he didn’t need to be involved anymore for it to bat and throttle the feather around his room. Still, he couldn’t conjure any more than the crow statue’s feet. “I don’t know what you want from me,” said Phillip. The dragon ignored him. He got a cassette player out of his closet and put on  _ Sylmare Heithana’s Cool Jazz Vibes to Study/Relax To.  _ He couldn’t say this was his speed, but it usually put the dragon in the zone when he really needed to get a project done. Not today, though. In a huff, he gave up and poured himself a glass of water. Before he could take a sip, the dragon stuck its head straight in there.

“Hey! That’s my—” Arcane power coursed through Phillip’s veins once again. “Really? We could’ve had this settled half an hour ago if I’d just given you water? Seriously, that’s it?” The dragon just kept on drinking. Phillip sighed. “Fine, I’ll go get another glass for me I guess.”


	3. Sleepy Bitch Disease

Phillip crawled into his bed after a long day of mishaps. Thoughts of what he’d done and what he hoped for in the future gradually blurred into the gentle nonsense of dream logic. But before sleep could ferry him away from this weary plane, CRASH! The dragon knocked over one of his wooden chairs.

“Hey! What are you even doing over there? It’s one in the morning, go to sleep!” said Phillip.

With a dejected trill, the dragon floated over to its pillow nest on his couch. Phillip flipped back over on his side. His breathing began to slow. He thought he heard a rustling, but he ignored it until it joined forces with the squeaking of a rubber duck getting its neck rung.

“Come on! Again? What is your problem?” yelled Phillip. Saying this reminded him of something he’d learned in Zoology that week: Dragons are nocturnal. “Uh, nevermind. I’m sorry, it’s not your fault that you can’t sleep.” The little dragon chirped indignantly. “That’s valid. Come here, lemme tell you a story.” The dragon curled up on his chest. “When I was little, I used to read these centimeter thick books about fairies all the time. One series I really liked was about this girl who had to go back and forth between her world and the fairy world because, uh… I think she had a deal with their queen? But anyway, fairies would get into trouble and she always found a way to help them. I thought it was cool how they were all based on flowers and fruit and that kind of thing… Or, wait, that might’ve been a different series… but for our purposes let’s say they’re the same! So, sometimes this mischievous one would show up, and…” The dragon’s eyelids grew heavy, and it couldn’t help but tuck its nose under its tail.


	4. Hay Dee Haitch Dee

“My, you’re an awfully inquisitive one, aren’t you? You won’t be tested on this for another, oh, three years?” said Miss Redding.

Phillip chuckled nervously. “Oh, you know. Gotta have hobbies?”

“You certainly must! I have some recommendations, but, oh, you’ll need to learn more before you can read those I suppose? But you know where to find me when you’re ready!” she said.

Phillip nodded politely. Careful to lift with his hips and not his back, he carried the tome over to the table where his unzipped bag laid and dropped it down with a thud. Miss Redding shushed him. After several minutes of flipping between the index and the first part of the book and scrawling in a notebook, he used Awakened Mind to say, “Hi… My… name… is… Phillip. What’s… yours?” in Celestial. The dragon chirped back. “Hydi?” It furrowed its brow in irritation. “Sorry. Hay… Dee. Heidi?” Heidi nodded. “Well then. It’s nice to meet you, Heidi,” he said in Common. “It’s a start.”


	5. ADHD

Since Phillip stayed after hours that day in the embroidery club room to finish his patch, Heidi got to watch him out in the open. His portrait of a cartoon gargoyle was coming together nicely. Grabbing his needle out of the back of the fabric, he slipped and pricked his finger. Heidi flew up to lick his wound.

“Woah there, I got it,” said Phillip, not knowing his finger was about to shimmer in gold light. “Huh?” He examined his closed wound, marveling at how the sharp stinging had evaporated. Heidi cooed. He slumped over on the table. “I’ve been a real jerk to you, huh, Heidi? And all you’ve been doing is try to help me…”

“It’s okay,” said Heidi. Convenient that the word for “okay” in Celestial is just “okay”. 

Phillip propped himself up on his elbows. “I’m buying you a churro,” he said.


End file.
